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Judge issues split ruling on Utah immigration law

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal judge has issued a split ruling on Utah's controversial immigration law, upholding one key measure but striking down several others.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups' ruling Wednesday upheld a key provision requiring authorities to check the immigration status of people arrested for felonies or Class A misdemeanors, such as theft. But he set limits on how it can be implemented.

Waddoups's ruling struck down a provision that allows warrantless arrests based solely on suspicion of immigration status. He also tossed a part that made it a state crime to harbor a person in the country illegally, and one that requires local officers to investigate immigration offenses.

The ruling comes more than a year after a hearing in the case and more than three years since the law was passed. The measure has been shelved pending a court review.